The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the Metro Rail Bill to give a legal framework to cover the activities of the proposed Metro Rail Project, including its operations and control.
The approval was given at the regular weekly meeting of the cabinet held at the Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan briefed the reporters after the meeting.A public limited company named Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) will operate the Metro Rail while the DMTCL will be supervised by the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority.
The law will cover the supervision authority of MRT projects in six districts of greater Dhaka as well as similar MRT projects would come under the purview of the law.
The Cabinet Secretary said that the proposed route of the MRT Line-6 is Uttara 3rd Phase to Bangladesh Bank via Pallabi-Rokeya Sarani-Khamarbari-Farmgate-Hotel Sonargaon-Shahbagh-TSC-Doel Chattar- and Topkhana Road. There will be separate committees for issuing licenses of metro rail and fixing the fares.
Executive Director of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority will be the head of the committee for issuing license. The proposed law also kept provision for constructing and operating the metro rail under PPP basis.
The proposed law kept provision of Tk 1 crore fine and 10 years’ imprisonment for operating metro rail without license or illegal handover of license for operating Metro Rail. The law also kept provision of five years’ imprisonment or Tk 50,000 fine for creating obstructions in running metro rail.
The cabinet secretary said Metro rail or Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line 6) is a priority project of the government. – UNB and News Desk
